


Like Coming Home

by tabbytabbytabby



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: BFFP, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Homecoming, Hugs, Pining, Surprise Party, Tumblr: BFFP (Chicago Fire)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26574625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: Sylvie's been away on leave, and Matt plans a surprise for her first day back.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 13
Kudos: 91





	Like Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Brettysey September Writing Prompt Challenge on Tumblr. Using the prompts "I've missed this" and the situation: Person A is returning from medical leave or furlough and Person B has a surprise planned.

2 weeks, 4 days. That’s how long Sylvie’s been away on leave. Not that Matt’s been counting down to the hour or anything. It’s perfectly normal to know how long she’s been away, and just when she’s returning. He’s her friend, and her Captain, he needs to know these things. That’s all it is. What else could it possibly be?

 _Or you’re just in denial_ , a voice that sounds a lot like Severide sounds in his head.

He scoffs and shakes the thoughts away. He needs to focus so he can make sure everything is ready by the time Sylvie gets here. 

“What’s up?” Severide says, placing some plates down on the table. 

“What do you mean?” Matt asks.

“I mean you just scoffed at yourself,” Severide says. “Where’s your head at?”

 _Places it shouldn’t be_ , he thinks. Out loud he says, “Nowhere. Just thinking.”

“Obviously.” Severide is silent for a moment as they work, but Matt can feel his eyes on him. He tries not to squirm under his gaze and focus on the task at hand. “It’s about Brett, isn’t?”

“What? No! Why would you say that?”

Severide laughs and knocks his shoulder against Matt’s, “Because you just started blushing and stammering like a teenager with a crush, man.”

“I’m not blushing,” Matt mutters.

“But you didn’t deny the last part,” Severide says. “So are you finally going to admit you like her?”

“Will you hush?” Matt asks. He looks around the room, making sure there’s no one in earshot. Herrmann and Mouch are over by the counter, arguing about something and not paying them the least bit of attention thankfully. 

“Relax,” Severide says. “No one is even listening. Ritter and Gallo are still blowing up balloons somewhere.”

“I told them we didn’t need that many balloons,” Matt says.

“Yeah well, they paid for them so let them do their thing,” Severide says. “And stop trying to change the subject.”

“I’m not,” Matt says. “We’re having a surprise party for Sylvie. That’s what we should be talking about.”

“Uh huh. And what about _why_ you’re throwing this party?”

“It’s not just me,” Matt argues. “We’re all throwing it for her. Because she’s our friend, and we’ve missed her.”

“But not as much as you have,” Severide says, tone teasing. “Because you like her.”

“What are we? In high school?”

Severide shrugs, “I don’t know man. You’re the one that’s been pining around here for weeks since Brett’s been gone.”

“I have not been pining.”

“You have.”

“I have not.”

“Yes, you _have_ ,” Severide presses. “But that’s okay. She’s missed you too, you know?”

“She has?” Matt asks, before he can stop himself. 

“Yeah, she told Stella as much on the phone when they talked. A few times actually. She kept asking how you were. Apparently she doesn't think you can function without her” Severide smirks over at him. “Not a totally wrong assumption.”

“I can function fine,” Matt argues.

“Sure you can.” Severide looks down at his phone when it dings. “Stella says they’re a few blocks away. Everything ready?”

“On my end, yeah,” Matt says. “I’ll go check on Gallo and Ritter.”

“I’ll let Boden know,” Severide says. He laughs and shakes his head before walking away.

Matt rolls his eyes and heads into the hall where Gallo and Ritter are sitting. “Alright. They’re close. So I think this should do it.”

It’s more than enough, in fact. There have to be at least fifty balloons here. If not more. 

“Do you think she’ll like them?” 

“I’m sure she will,” Matt says. “Now come on. We need to hide.”

“I love surprise parties,” Gallo whispers as they walk back into the common area where the others have already gathered, some behind the couch or the counter, others under the table. They take as many balloons as they can with them, and Gallo and Ritter hand them off to the others while Matt takes his place in a corner out of view. 

He feels his pulse speed up at the sound of Sylvie’s voice just outside the door, “What’s with the balloons?”

“No idea,” Stella says. “Maybe someone’s gotten into crafts or something.”

“With balloons?”

“People are into weird stuff these days,” Stella says, and Matt can just picture her shrugging.

“True,” Sylvie laughs. “I really can’t wait to see everyone.” A beat of silence as the door starts to open. “Matt’s here, right?”

Matt’s heart does a weird flipping them in his chest. Sylvie’s asking about him. She wants to see him. 

“His truck was outside, so yeah, I’d say he’s here.”

“Right yeah. Of course. That makes sense.”

“No go on,” Stella says. “Get in there.”

Those last few seconds seem to stretch as he waits for them to walk into the room. And then she’s there, and there’s a chaos of sound and balloons flying as everyone jumps out from their hiding spots. 

“SURPRISE!”

Sylvie jumps and looks around the room, before a wide grin spreads across her face as she laughs happily. “Oh my gosh. You guys!”

Matt stands back, giving her space as the rest of the team hugs her and welcomes her back. 

“You did all this for me?” she asks, looking around at them. She hasn’t noticed Matt yet.

“Matt’s idea,” Severide says, nodding to where he’s still standing near the wall.

Sylvie spins around to face him, and her smile grows. “You did all this for me?” 

Matt shrugs, “Of course. I’ve missed you. _We’ve_ missed you.”

She studies him for a moment, her lips pursed in thought. Matt doesn’t get any warning before she launches herself at him, hugging him tightly. Matt feels himself relax, something inside him settling at the feeling of her in his arms.

“I’ve missed this,” she whispers against his ear.

His arms tighten around her and he feels himself start finally breathe again. “So have I.”

She pulls back to look at him, but doesn’t step away yet. “Thank you. For all of this.”

“Of course,” Matt says. “You deserve the best, Sylvie Brett.”

She smiles and kisses his cheek, before whispering softly in his ear, “I think you’re the best there is.”

She steps back and gets pulled aside by Stella. Matt’s left standing there, his heart thrumming hard in his chest. “Everything okay?” Severide asks him. “You look like you’ve gone into shock man.”

He certainly feels like he has. Sylvie turned his world upside down with those seven words, and he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do about it. Talk to her. He knows he needs to talk to her. But this isn't the time. That’ll come later after shift. 

He’ll offer to drive her home and she’ll invite him inside. They’ll catch up on the couch, sitting closer than they normally do. And every inch of Matt will be alive and aware of her presence, like he always is, but this time it will be different. This time he’ll take a chance. He’ll shift closer and she’ll smile as he leans in, and kissing her in that moment will be as easy as breathing. Because it is. It’s what they’ve both been waiting for, what they’ve been building towards all this time. Being with her isn’t like anything Matt has ever felt. It’s like coming home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/comments make my day 💜  
> You can find me [here on tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


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